When Life Gives You Lemons
by Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet
Summary: When life gives you lemons, you're supposed to make lemonade. Well, life dumped a pile on top of Marinette and she tried her best to stay positive, but there's only so much a teenager, even a super-powered one, can do. And unfortunately, even miraculous holders can attract dangerous attention.
1. Chapter 1

_Set after the first season._

xXx

The wisest person Marinette ever knew was her grandmother on her father's side (she'd only met her grandparents on her mother's side once, and only barely remembered their visit—they were old fashioned and rarely had access to anything outside their little farming community in China). She often remembered going out to the country as a child and arriving at a modest home set back in a small vineyard that seemed like it belonged more in a fairy tail than in real life. Her grandmother would then show her all sorts of things and tell her stories of far away places and fairies and princesses. Not all of them were pleasant, but Marinette loved each and every one of them nonetheless.

"These stories exist," her grandmother would often say, "because bad things will always happen, no matter how good you are. Your life is what you make of it. You can be in the best circumstances and still be sad. You can be in the worst circumstances and still be happy. Life will give you lemons, so let me teach you how to make lemonade."

Now that Marinette looked back on it, it had been silly and cheesy, but she still loved thinking about it. Sometimes, especially recently, she'd been having a hard time remembering that good things happened if she just kept at it. Endurance, she discovered, was by far the most difficult aspect of living. The fact that she'd been chosen to be a super hero only made this more obvious to her. So many times she found herself grateful that part of her super powers dealt with luck, because quite frankly, she needed all the help she could get sometimes.

Like right now.

"Chat! Duck!" The blond boy did so as a stream of dark energy shot through the space where his head had been not moments before.

"Thank you, My Lady," he said, taking a second to smile at her before he dodged another beam. The Akuma, a teacher at her school (again), had gotten frustrated with students not paying attention in class. They hadn't seen the black butterfly land on anything, but while her back had been turned to the class, she'd suddenly frozen. After a few seconds the whole class had freaked out when a dark energy had surrounded her. She'd then turned and proclaimed that if they couldn't watch the board, they wouldn't be able to watch anything and proceeded shoot energy beams at people. Said beams blinded each person they touched.

All in all, it wasn't the worst Akuma they'd ever faced, but the situation still created it's own problems, mainly because in addition to the black energy beams, she also exuded a mist of darkness that no one could touch without getting blinded as well. Marinette had no idea how to get close to her at all, let alone find whatever the butterfly-Akuma had possessed.

She ducked as the Akuma (she hadn't heard the name Hawkmoth had given her) shot a beam out at Ladybug just to let the super hero know she hadn't been forgotten. Ladybug managed to roll to the side, coming to land on one knee and a hand, bracing herself to move quickly if she had to. Thankfully, Chat had swooped in with his stick and distracted her again. Being able to hit the Akuma from any distance was useful.

She glanced around and noted some air vents not too far away. Maybe if she could lure the Akuma over that way, they could at least get rid of the aura of darkness and try to figure out what they had to break this time. Honestly, she couldn't think of anything else she could do at the moment, so she made a few mental calculations. Then she yelled out to her partner.

"Chat! Follow me!"

She threw her yoyo out and swung in the directions of the air vents, trusting that Chat would follow right behind. She landed several meters away from the grate and noted that yes, air was indeed coming out of it. Tiny streamers that had been tied onto the grate stood straight in the air, dancing in an amusing display of color. She smiled just as Chat landed beside her.

"My Lady?" he asked.

She nodded with her head towards the grate as she eyed the teacher-turned-monster that continued to follow them.

"Do you think I don't know what you want me to do?" the Akuma screeched. "I have an intellect far superior to yours! Teachers always do!"

Ladybug wasn't so sure about that, but she did note with displeasure that the Akuma had planted itself more or less in the middle of the street and did not move another step closer to the vents. Well, at least that let them know that something would happen if they did manage to get her over there.

"What now, My Lady?" Chat asked, his nonchalance slightly forced.

Sparing a glance at him, she grabbed her yoyo. "Distract her for a moment."

"Of course!" he said and leapt at the cloud of darkness, using his pole to poke at the Akuma and prod her as he had been doing before. This, of course, gave Ladybug the opportunity to pull out her final card.

"Lucky charm!"

A compact fell into her hands. It had a large mirror and nothing else.

"Is now really the time to powder your pretty nose?" Chat asked, having noticed her signature move.

She shot him a dirty look before another stream of energy came at her.

And she knew what to do.

Holding the compact up, the beam struck the mirror. Apparently it was light-based (although she didn't know _how_ that could be as it looked dark, but chalked it up to magic) because it bounced right back at the Akuma before it had a chance to dodge.

"Aarg!" she screamed and the cloud moved as if she were stumbling. Ladybug and Chat exchanged glances as the Akuma straightened herself. "Do you think this will stop me? I can still blind you! Consider this your punishment for not paying attention!"

With that, a steady stream of the dark began to circle around her in one continuous shot. Ladybug honestly wondered why she hadn't used such an attack before as both she and Chat had to take cover from it. Then again, it would make her dizzy and hopefully disorient her, which would only help their cause so she couldn't really complain too much.

"My Lady?" Chat called to her from somewhere off to her right.

"I hear you!"

The earrings beeped.

"She's blinded now," Ladybug called back, hoping the obviousness of the statement would give him a hint. Apparently it did.

"Maybe you can hear me," he said to the Akuma suddenly as he bounded from in back of the car he'd taken refuge behind, "but you still can't catch me!"

He proceeded to quite literally run circles around the Akuma, barely keeping ahead of the teacher, who didn't cease her attack. It left a dark streak behind wherever it touched, and Ladybug was pretty sure they'd have to avoid contact with that if they wanted to be able to continue to fight.

Typical. This was getting better and better.

The earrings beeped again.

She mentally berated herself for being so sarcastic in the middle of a fight. If she had time to think such thoughts, she probably had time to figure something else out.

Mme. Durand, the teacher, continued to follow Chat Noir's voice with her attack, swinging it this way and that as the super hero did his best to dodge and duck out of the way. Meanwhile, Marinette sneaked as quietly as she could, hoping to get into position without the Akuma noticing.

When she finally stood in place, she took a deep breath and swung her yoyo out, ignoring a third warning from her miraculous. The yoyo wrapped around the teacher in the middle of the cloud and Ladybug yanked the Akuma towards her and the air vent between them. Mme. Durand shrieked but was unable to stop herself as she landed heavily (and harmlessly—thank goodness for the hardiness that came with Akuma powers) on top of the grate. She didn't move for a moment, and Ladybug grinned.

What was left of the cloud of darkness dispersed upward with the air, allowing Ladybug to see the laser pointer in the teacher's hand. It was the only thing she could see that could conceivably have been possessed because the rest of the teacher's body was covered in in a black, skin-tight suit.

She rushed forward, yanked it out of the black-clad hand and threw it on the ground, stomping on it with her foot for good measure. A small, relieved sigh escaped her when a little, black butterfly floated up. In moments, she'd purified it.

"Bye, bye, pretty papillon," she said with a relieved smile as it fluttered away. Then she tossed the compact into the air and the smile turned into a full-blown grin as all the streaks of darkness left behind by the attack vanished.

"Great job, Milady!" Chat Noir praised as he ran up to her, fist bump ready. She met it just as her earnings beeped for the final time. She glanced at the very confused teacher who now sat on the pavement, blinking as if trying to remember something she'd just been doing and not succeeding. She looked like any normal teacher, albeit this one sat in her professional skirt and button-down top under somewhat ruffled brunette hair in the middle of a vacant street. Rather out of place for any working adult.

"Sorry for leaving you with the clean-up, but my transformation is about to wear off," she said apologetically to Chat Noir.

"It's fine, My Lady," the blond boy said with a bow. "I'll take care of everything."

She rolled her eyes at his cheesy lines, but couldn't stop the smile that crawled onto her face. Then, with a grateful wave, she rushed down a nearby street and just managed to duck behind a car before her transformation wore off. Exhausted, Tikki let herself fall into Marinette's hands, but she had a large smile on her face.

"Nice job, Marinette," she said.

"Thanks," Marinette grinned as she glanced around to make sure no one saw, stood and started her journey home. She was sure Chat would be alright, but she still felt a little guilty for leaving him to do all the clean up. Normally she had a little more time to help out. Odd...

"Tikki, is everything alright with you?" she asked with a slight frown.

The little, red Kwami blinked her large, blue eyes up at her wielder. "Why do you ask, Marinette?"

The dark-haired girl furrowed her brow. "Well, it just seemed like the transformation wore off more quickly than usual is all."

Tikki looked down and put her chin in her hand. "Well, I have been feeling a little strange today," she admitted.

Marinette stumbled. She tended to do that when she got worried. That was something no amount of good luck could help, apparently. She felt her brow furrow in concern. "Are you sick?"

The fairy thought about that for a moment before shrugging. "I might be coming down with something, but I don't feel particularly bad. At least not yet."

"Should I take you to see Master Fu?" Marinette asked, unconscious of the way she brought Tikki to her chest protectively.

Tikki shook her head, causing her antenna to flow around her like little ribbons. Marinette couldn't help but smile ever so slightly. Tikki was just too cute for her own good.

"No, I don't think it's anything a night of rest and a plate of cookies won't fix," she assured. "And even if it is, we can go see Master Fu when we're sure. He's a pretty busy man."

Marinette bit her lip and went to open her purse. They were approaching a more heavily traveled street and would attract too much attention with Tikki out in the open like that. "If you're sure," she acquiesced hesitantly.

"We really shouldn't bother him if it isn't important," Tikki insisted.

"Alright," Marinette said. "But if you feel anything tonight or tomorrow..."

"You'll know," Tikki nodded.

Something about how she said that caused Marinette to stop and look down at her Kwami with a frown.

"What do you mean, I'll know?"

"Well, when I get sick, I tend to get...unlucky," Tikki admitted, flushing an even brighter red. Huh, so Kwami could blush, Marinette thought, and then the words her fairy had spoken caught up with her.

"What?" she practically screeched.

Tikki sighed. "Remember when you lost me the last time I got sick?" Marinette nodded. She'd had to track her little friend across half of Paris during an Akuma attack. It hadn't been fun. "Normally I'm a force for good luck, but sometimes my energy gets out of balance and I get sick. When that happens, everything that might have been good luck becomes bad luck until my energy becomes balanced again."

Marinette's eyes widened in realization. "Which is why we had to get Master Fu to cure you."

Tikki grinned. "Exactly."

"Alright," Marinette said with a nod and began to walk again, tapping her chin with one hand thoughtfully. "Well, I was still able to help stop an Akuma attack last time, and I did manage to get you back, so it wasn't too bad, I guess."

Tikki just shook her head. "How much bad luck gathers depends on how sick I get. If it gets really bad, it can affect you too. Thankfully I haven't gotten that sick in centuries."

"Well that's good," the dark-haired girl said with a grin as she stepped out onto the busier street and turned towards the subway that would take her back to her neighborhood. She didn't particularly care if people saw her 'talking to herself', and very few people took notice of her purse talking back to her. As long as the Kwami stayed hidden, they were usually fine, so when something else occurred to her she didn't mind voicing it.

"Tikki, what makes you sick?"

The Kwami didn't answer for several seconds and Marinette wondered if she'd heard the question. Then, finally, she heard the muffled answer.

"There are lots of reasons. The energy around Paris has been in flux because of all the Akuma attacks, and that can affect Kwami. It could be something to do with Chat Noir and his Kwami too."

"Chat?" Marinette asked, surprised. "Why would he affect you?"

"Chat Noir and Ladybug are two halves of a whole," Tikki said with a giggle. "So if something is really wrong with him and his Kwami, it can affect me. Usually not enough to cause serious problems though because it's indirect."

"Oh," Marinette replied, thinking about that. "What else?"

"Sometimes the same things that can make humans sick can make Kwami sick too. Not enough rest, not enough food or water, things like that. Sometimes it can just be the energy of the world shifting or the energy of the universe following its course. Sometimes getting sick is completely natural for a Kwami and they can become stronger when they heal.

"See? There are lots of reasons."

Marinette smiled ruefully down at her companion as she bought a ticket. "You know, that may be the most information you've ever given me at one time. Are you sure you're not sick?"

Tikki just rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

xXx

Marinette managed to finish her homework that night and went to bed early. Which was why she was surprised when her mother had to physically rouse her and inform her that even if she got up at that moment, she would be late. Marinette rushed and scrambled so quickly that she forgot to check on Tikki until she grabbed her purse to leave.

"Tikki," she said through a roll as she rushed out the door. "How are you..."

Marinette froze when she saw the little, limp form that had more or less made her purse into a home. Tikki wasn't answering and she just sat there in a heap at the bottom of the pocket. To Marinette, she looked _dead_ and that scared her...deeply.

Forgetting about school completely, she turned and half-ran, half-tripped (her luck really was bad this morning) to Master Fu's where she practically collapsed on the floor in tears. She explained the situation and then carefully handed the Kwami over. The look on the old man's face as he examined Tikki didn't do anything to reassure her.

"What's wrong with her?" Marinette couldn't contain the question any longer, even though she knew Master Fu was still examining. He must have decided to humor her, though, because he sighed and glanced up at her.

"Unlike humans, getting sick can be a natural part of growing for Kwami. It's a way for them to purge unnatural energy that has accumulated in their bodies."

Marinette nodded. "Tikki said something like that yesterday. So how long before she gets better?"

Master Fu shook his head. "I couldn't say. It could be a few hours or a few weeks. This isn't something we can hurry along without some rather dire potential consequences."

That surprised (and worried) Marinette and she sat back, eyes wide. "You mean, you can't ring your gong and make her better?"

The old man shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid not. It could hurt her and potentially weaken her even further in her current condition."

Marinette began to wring her hands together worriedly. "But she will get better?"

"Of course," Master Fu replied, patting her hands calmly.

"But what if an Akuma attacks?" she asks.

"Then Chat Noir and I will have to take care of it until Tikki is better. I have ways of temporarily storing magic in stasis and it should work on the Akuma too. It's risky, but something we can resort to if we have to."

Marinette did not like the sound of that. "And I'm just supposed to sit on the side and just watch while you two risk your lives?"

Master Fu didn't frown often, so when he did this time, it startled her (and maybe even scared just a tiny bit—he was pretty intimidating for a little, old man). "You need to stay as in balance as you can if you want to help Tikki get better. Rushing into battles you can't handle won't help her and it won't help you."

Then he smiled reassuringly as he laid Tikki in Marinette's hands. "There's nothing I can do for her here. She may be able to help you transform just long enough to purify an Akuma if she gets enough rest and food. That's if you're lucky. But please don't push her. It could make the whole situation worse."

Marinette sighed. "Right," she muttered and stood, placing Tikki lovingly in her purse.

At that point, she noticed the time. "I don't suppose you could write me a note excusing me, could you?"

He sighed again.

xXx

 _AN: Don't know how many people reading this will also read my Star Wars stories, but I promise that the next chapter of Dangers of Foresight is with the beta readers now. Been writing this one on and off for that last little while and can't promise when it will be updated (I usually work on something like this when I get blocked in my other stories that I'm supposed to be updating, helps keep my writing alive and stops me from getting writers block), but I do have a good 4 chapters written already, so it shouldn't be too bad._

 _Note, this will be a Dark!Ladybug fic. This is rated T mainly for tense scenes and some violence as well as a few underlying hints at something darker here and there. It should be a pretty mild T, though; no language, no explicit content._

 _Also, only canon pairings._

 _Hope you enjoyed it so far. Replies, positive or negative (as long as they're constructive) are welcome and often help me with later chapters. :)_


	2. Chapter 2

_Not Beta Read._

Thankfully, no Akuma attacked that day. Marinette counted her lucky stars, because said luck failed her in just about everything else. First, she ended up with a detention because of her tardiness, despite the note. Then she noticed Adrien wasn't in class and remembered he had a photo shoot. Then she realized that Alya wasn't there either and had to ask Nino why. Just before the teacher caught them and they got another reprimand, she found out Alya had come down with a cold that morning. It only served to reminded her how much she'd dreaded school before Alya had moved in.

Tikki remained curled up at the bottom of the bag basically unresponsive throughout school, only adding to her worry. All in all, it made for a pretty miserable day, and Marinette couldn't wait to just head home and bury herself under some blankets.

Of course, that wasn't to be.

Her parents weren't happy with the detentions she'd been getting lately and Marinette had to endure the 'we thought this was fixed' speech before she was put on a probationary grounding. If she couldn't do better for the foreseeable future, she would be grounded indefinitely. Phone, television and friends. At least they'd let her have her phone that night.

Then, to top it all off, she received a response to a design contest she'd entered and had been politely but soundly rejected. Alya hadn't picked up when she'd called and really, the only highlight of the day happened to be when Tikki, whom Marinette had placed on the pillow on her bed, woke up for a short time just as Marinette was sitting at her desk and staring at the rejection letter.

"M-marinette?"

"Tikki!" the black-haired girl said with relief as she rushed over to her friend's side. "How are you feeling?"

The little, red figure shivered. "Not so well," she admitted.

Marinette nodded sadly. "I took you to Master Fu. He said there's nothing he can do and this has to pass on its own."

Tikki sighed. "I was afraid of that."

"But I thought you said you felt fine yesterday," Marinette said with a frown.

"I thought I would, but every few centuries something like this happens. I just wish it hadn't been now."

Marinette glanced down at the letter still in her hand. "You and me both," she muttered.

Tikki, the sweetheart that she was, noted Marinette's tone despite her sickness. "What's that?" she asked, trying not to sound weak and failing miserably.

The teenager shook her head. "It's nothing."

Tikki frowned. "Marinette, you can tell me."

Marinette watched the Kwami for a few moments before sighing. She didn't want to worry Tikki anymore than she already had, but she also knew the fairy wouldn't just let it go. "It's a response to the contest I entered a few weeks ago," she said.

Tikki perked up. "Oh! You've been waiting for that one, haven't you?" Marinette nodded slowly and Tikki's smile fell. "They didn't accept you?"

The dark-haired girl shook her head.

"Oh, Marinette, I'm so sorry."

"It's alright," Marinette said, trying to sound up-beat but fearing that she failed just about as miserably as Tikki had. "I didn't really put my all into it."

It was Tikki's turn to frown. "But you stayed up all night to finish the project."

"Right after an Akuma attack," Marinette pointed out. "And there had been one the day before too, and then school before that. I just didn't have time. The Akuma attack wore me out. I was lucky I finished it at all." But that wasn't how the fashion world worked. It wasn't like a school project where she could do a semi-good job and pass it off for a B grade and still slide by. Fashion required focus and dedication and...so much she couldn't give right now.

"Don't feel bad, Marinette," Tikki said, not unkindly. "I know being Ladybug gets in the way of life sometimes, but there will be other contests."

It wasn't up to Tikki's usual caliber of pep talks, but Marinette appreciated the thought. "Yeah, I know. Besides, even if it's difficult sometimes, I wouldn't give up being Ladybug for anything."

The fairy smiled tiredly and laid her head back down. "That's good to hear."

"Here, eat up," Marinette insisted, heading over with a plate of cookies she'd brought up for just this occasion. "If an Akuma attacks we may need to transform long enough to purify it, but Master Fu made me promise I wouldn't if you didn't feel you could handle it. You need food and rest."

"Right," Tikki said as she reached for the plate. Marinette bit her lip when she noticed how shaky her hand was. Still, she didn't say anything as Tikki downed her first cookie and seemed to regain some color that Marinette hadn't even realized she'd lost.

She settled down to do her homework while Tikki ate. A half-an-hour or so later, she realized the Kwami had drifted back to sleep and moved the plate from the bed.

After a short dinner later that night, Marinette joined her, burying herself under the covers and praying for a better day when she woke.

xXx

Being sick gave people a new view on the world. Not necessarily better, but definitely new.

Despite the fact that Alya could barely breathe (blast this cold she'd come down with just yesterday), that didn't mean she wasn't doing something. After all, the Journalism world was nothing if not brutal and she knew she'd have to get used to no sick days. She'd tried to convince her mom to let her go to school, but the woman had insisted Alya stay home until she got well. She wasn't sure how that was supposed to happen with some of her younger sisters still at home and making all sorts of racket, but she knew when to fight a battle.

So, instead, she'd decided to try a new angle on discovering who Ladybug and Chat Noir were. She'd begun with compiling a list of all known Akuma victims, herself included (and thank goodness she couldn't actually _remember_ that) and then she'd printed off (page by page, which had been a nightmare, but it got the job done) a map of Paris and plastered it on her wall, thinking that maybe that would give her a clue.

She'd known the majority had gone to her school, but originally chalked it up to teenage angst. It wasn't that unreasonable to think that teenagers would have problems with anger, depression and other negative emotions that (apparently) tended to trigger Akuma attacks.

It _was_ a little unusual, she realized, that more than half the Akuma attacks so far had been from her school. She hadn't realized it, but no other school had really been hit at all, let alone multiple times. She frowned as she pinned the last pin into her wall (Mme. Durrand) and stepped back with a frown, she wasn't sure _what_ that meant, but it had to mean something.

Did Hawkmoth have some connection there? Was he a teacher? Did he have a son or daughter who went there? Was he a donor who supported the school? One of the staff that worked there? Or was it something else attracting them?

Her mind wandered back to when she'd found 'Ladybug's' text book again and stepped back from the wall, studying the map intently. Then she coughed. Hard. Ugh. She hated getting sick. Her medicine seemed to be wearing off. She'd have to get more soon.

Shaking her head, she focused back on the map and reexamined her former thought. She'd done a lot of conclusion jumping recently and really, she needed to stop that. If she really wanted to figure out who Ladybug was, she needed to be objective, not leaning towards one theory or another...

And yet.

Did Ladybug go to their school? Was she somehow (inadvertently, no doubt) drawing the Akuma to them? It was a theory...

She wrote it down on her notebook and then went back to studying the map. The TV station had a few pins, so she thought about that. Mannon had been there when she'd changed, right? And Stormy Weather, and the Jaquesdee... but they'd been all over television, so that could mean anything. She shook her head and tried to look at the whole picture again. Unfortunately, her eyes kept getting drawn to the concentration of multi-colored pins that she'd swiped from her mother's sewing kit.

The school.

Her mind wouldn't let it go. There were just too many there for her to ignore it.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then forced herself to focus on the other pins, each one separate and not seemingly related in the slightest. One had been on the north side, one on the south, three at various places in the west, two in the east...

Her gaze focused on the school again and she slumped into her desk chair, coughing and internally cursing.

Fine, she'd work the school angle... _again_. Ladybug had told her that she was older than anyone who went to their school...or, well, she'd implied it. Or she'd lied. Alya frowned at that. Ladybug was her hero, but that didn't mean she was perfect. She could have lied to keep her identity secret. So she needed to examine everyone there again. But she could sit here for hours—days even—and never come closer to figuring out who Ladybug was simply by going through the different people she knew in the school.

She frowned at the little concentration of pins again and decided to go with the facts she knew about.

Alright, so who had been akumized there again? She sighed and decided to go through the list, writing it down as best she could remember. Ivan, Nino, Alex, Alya (she suppressed a shudder), Nethaniel, Kim, Mylene, Sabrina, Chloe, Julika, Rose, Mme. Durrand...She wasn't a hundred percent sure on the order as this was off the top of her head, but she was pretty sure she had everyone in her school...

In her class...

Why was her class being targeted? That...that was too specific. Everyone had been akumized.

Everyone except...well, Marinette and Adrien...

Her frown deepened.

That _could_ just be coincidence...right?

But Marinette could get awfully dramatic at times. So why hadn't she been targeted? And she knew that Adrien's life wasn't as perfect as Marinette seemed to think, but was it _that_ good? So good that he hadn't attracted an Akuma at all?

Her stomach started to churn uncomfortably, and she coughed again, but it didn't distract her. She refused to let it because she was so close! She could _feel_ it.

She glanced at her phone and the selfie she'd taken of her and Marinette. She was pretty sure that Ladybug had dark hair (something about everyone's memories and even pictures of her made it seem...vague, Alya assumed it was whatever powers the girl possessed at work). But still...Marinette? Marinette her _best friend_? She'd tell her something like that...wouldn't she? Besides, she was _so_ clumsy and awkward at times. Very unlike Ladybug...

But then Alya remembered her standing up to Chloe those few times she did. And there were other times when Marinette just got this _determined_ look on her face that presented nothing but an immovable wall. At those times, she either seriously impressed Alya, or scared her silly. Because someone with that look could do...

Anything...

But it couldn't be. Marinette wouldn't...

Would she?

And what about Adrien?

She'd never really noticed before (mainly because she usually went running in the direction of the screams) but Marinette was almost never around during the Akuma attacks she could remember. Neither was Adrien...were they? During the stories afterwords she almost never heard their names mentioned. Was that just coincidence too?

She pulled up the old, doctored photo on her phone, ignoring the coughing fit that her sudden movements spurred on. A picture of Adrien with cat ears and a mask...

She got her stylus out and pulled up a picture of Marinette. 5 minutes of paint later, Alya held the pictures, now side by side, at arms length and her stomach turned to ice.

It wasn't perfect, but it definitely looked like Ladybug and Chat Noir.

She dropped the phone as if it had burned her. "Oh...my..." she faded off as another series of coughs took her over. When the coughs stopped, she fixed her eyes on the picture (now on the floor) again as she tried to get her breath under control.

Marinette and Adrien. Part of her wanted to throw her hands up in the air because if this was right (and she was getting more and more sure that it was) then Marinette liked Adrien and Chat Noir (Adrien) liked Ladybug (Marinette) and just _how_ could they have a _love square_ with just _two people?!_

But most of her just felt numb. She knew this would hurt soon because how could Marinette...how _could_ she? Did she really not trust Alya that much? Just because she ran the Ladyblog? Or was it because of Lady Wifi?

She could feel a headache coming on, and really, she did not want to deal with all of this right now (and here she thought she could handle anything, talk about a wake up call), so Alya pushed herself towards her bed and collapsed onto it, groaning as she pulled the covers over her head and trying to ignore the nausea in her stomach that had nothing to do with her illness.

One way or another, she'd find out tomorrow. Even if she had to sneak out to do it.

xXx

Marinette managed to wake up early enough to wrap Tiki up in some warm scraps of cloth and gently tuck her inside her purse the next morning. Honestly, at this point, she'd count that as a win and a much better start to the day. She even left early and easily got to school before class started, much to her parent's pleasure.

She was just starting to relax at that realization (and hoping her luck was changing) when she saw who had just come up to the gates of the school and stopped short. Perfect blond hair over green eyes that somehow made any casual clothing that he wore look like a tuxedo in comparison to everyone else's attire. Marinette felt a familiar, dopy smile come over her face and happily watched as her crush ascended the steps. Every movement flowed like water and his poise and his smile just made everything around him brighter and—

And then Chloe had to ruin everything by rushing onto the scene and throwing her arms around Adrien.

"Adrikins!" she yelled, somehow managing a simpering squee. Marinette instantly felt the dreamy smile fall to a frown.

"Um, hello, Chloe," Adrien said and Marinette couldn't help but take heart in the discomfort she heard in his voice (even as she completely ignored the familiarity she heard too).

"So," the blond girl said as she latched onto Adrien's arm and began leading him away. Marinette, still frowning, couldn't help it as her feet began to follow them, seemingly of their own accord. "Daddy is throwing a party this weekend. Normally I would be able to go, but it's only for couples. So I told him that my boyfriend would bring me. What do you say?"

Marinette's mouth dropped open. This had to be her worst nightmare come true! How could this happen? How could Chloe, of all people, manage to get to Adrien first?! Well, probably because she didn't suddenly become a stuttering mess around him and she had known him for years. Marinette felt her heart sink.

Then Adrien spoke, looking at the girl hanging off of his arm in surprise. "What do you mean, 'what do I say?' I didn't know you had a boyfriend."

Chloe giggled shrilly. _"You're_ my boyfriend, silly. I just wanted to make sure—"

"Wait, what?!" Adrien actually took a step away from her, eyes wide and mouth open.

The blond girl rolled her eyes. "Come on. We've been practically dating for years now. Don't you think it's time to make it official?" She leaned forward to kiss him and Marinette saw red. It took every ounce of control she had to not burst out right then and there and give Chloe what for. This wasn't her battle, after all. It had nothing to do with her, no matter how much she wanted it to be otherwise.

Adrien slipped his arm away from her and backed away before their lips could touch though. "Chloe, I hate to tell you this, but...I like someone else."

The expression on the other girl's face would have been priceless at any other time, but Marinette anger abandoned her at those words, leaving her to feel much the same. _No,_ her mind thought desperately as she stared at Adrien, _let me not have heard that right. Please!_

"What?" Chloe shrieked. "Who? Who is she? I'll kill her!"

Adrien frowned. "Then of course I'm not going to tell you who she is," he said, sounding more exasperated with his childhood friend than Marinette had ever heard him before.

"At least tell me if she goes to this school," Chloe insisted, trailing after Adrien as he turned and walked away.

He put a hand up to his nose in exasperation before he gave in. "No," he finally replied. "She's someone I work with...kind of."

"A model?" Chloe asked, her own anger suddenly melting away only to be replaced by something that she almost never showed openly. Fear. She couldn't compete with a model. Models had looks _and_ money and prestiege. They could easily prove to be a threat even Chloe knew she couldn't overcome. And if Chloe, with all her money and power couldn't compete, then how could Marinette? All she had was, well, herself.

She put a hand up to her chest, trying to will away the painful constriction that had started there. A model. Of course he would fall for one of the gorgeous girls he worked with. Really, it only made sense.

"Something like that," Adrien muttered to Chloe. They stood there awkwardly for a few moments before he turned to go to class.

Chloe followed him silently into the school and disappeared from view. It took Marinette several minutes more before she managed to move her own feet forward, leaving the remains of her shattered heart somewhere behind her.

xXx

Chloe was in a foul mood the rest of the day. Naturally, she took it out on anyone and everyone, epically Marinette. To make it all worse, Alya was still out sick, leaving Marinette alone to wallow in her misery.

The only bright point of the day came at lunch when Marinette checked on Tikki and found the little Kwami awake. Marinette tried to hide her sadness from the tiny figure, but Tikki knew her too well.

"Marinette, what's wrong?" she asked worriedly, ignoring her own tiredness.

So Marinette told her everything and then sat against the wall, elbows resting on her arms and head buried in them. She just wanted the world to go away.

"Marinette, you need to cheer up," Tikki said softly.

"How?" she asked, somehow unable to lift her head. "My dreams have just been shattered."

"There will be other boys," the Kwami pointed out.

Marinette scoffed. "Not like Adrien."

Tikki stayed quiet for a few seconds before speaking again. "Maybe not, but you can't give up now. There is someone out there for you, and you're only 14. You'll find him, I promise."

"I don't want anyone but Adrien," she replied stubbornly.

She heard Tikki sigh and immediately felt bad. The last thing Tikki needed when she was sick like this was all of Marinette's drama. Great, now she felt terrible for inadvertently hurting one of her best friends. Could this day get any worse?

She had to think the thought. "Marinette, if you don't cheer up, you could attract an Akuma."

That caused her head to shoot up and she looked over at her open purse. "What?! I thought Akuma couldn't...I mean, I thought we were protected. Chat Noir and I."

Tikki tipped her head to one side. "Why do you say that?"

"Because," Marinette frowned, "everyone else in my class except for Adrien has been Akumized. He hasn't because he probably has the perfect life. I've had problems, though. I've been depressed and upset and I haven't been Akumized."

Tikki nodded thoughtfully. "That's because I've been shielding you. The Akuma are more attracted to you and Chat Noir, which is why people in your class have been Akumized, but I can protect you from Nooroo for the most part."

"What do you mean, 'for the most part?'" the dark-haired girl asked, eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

Tikki looked away. "My power lies in creation. Nooroo's power lies in bestowing abilities onto a chosen. They are inherently different. There's only so much I can do to keep you from Hawkmoth's attention. Nooroo's power can enhance another miraculous wielder, it's happened before, so there's no guarantee that you're safe. So you have to cheer up." The kwami pleaded fervently, eyes practically begging Marinette to listen.

For several seconds, she just stared in horror at her Kwami. Then she blinked and nodded. Her heart hurt and a nasty depression had seeped into her soul, but that didn't mean she had to give into them, right?

"Alright, Tikki," she said with a forced smile, "I'll try."

The fairy brightened at that. "Good for you, Marinette."

"Yeah," the girl replied softly. She would try for Tikki. She would do her best and throw herself into her Ladybug duties when Tikki got better. Maybe then she could forget this for a while. That would help a lot.

"Marinette, I'e been thinking," Tikki said after a few minutes of contemplative silence.

"About what?" Marinette asked.

"Well, about you making yourself a Ladybug mask or something that you can change into."

Marinette blinked in surprise. Where had that come from? "What? Why?"

The Kwami drooped a bit. "If we have to transform, I don't know how long I can keep it up. If you want to keep your identity safe, then having a mask on might help. And if you're having bad luck, then the transformation back might be at the worst possible moment."

The dark-haired girl contemplated that for a moment. "I...see," she finally said. "But what about my clothes? If I detransform, don't you think someone would recognize them?" Marinette did tend to have a rather unique sense of style. Not an unusual trait when one focused on fashion design.

Tikki shrugged and her eyelids seemed to fall a little lower with every passing second. "Don't wear recognizable clothing? Or make a suit for underneath? I'm...not sure, and it's getting hard to think."

"Right," Marinette agreed and patted Tikki on the head. "Go to sleep. Here," she handed her a snack she'd been carrying around. "Eat this and then rest."

Tikki took the pastry with a relieved smile. "Thanks, Marinette."

"You're welcome."

xXx

The afternoon didn't go much better than her morning had. Lila had to do a presentation in biology about the animal she'd picked and it happened to be an Assassin Bug. She'd looked a little too gleeful when she'd pronounced that these insects prayed on Ladybugs (one of their main, natural predators, to be precise).

Chloe had venomously defended her favorite super heroine after correctly assuming that Lila was trying to put Ladybug down. It had degraded into a very loud, very high-pitched cat fight that had drawn the entire class in, landing everyone else with a detention too.

She could only feel relief when she'd finally gotten out of there and made for home.

Then she met Alya.

At first she couldn't help but be wary of the figure bundled up in winter coats and scarves walking towards her, but then she recognized them and couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh.

"Alya?" she asked, double checking (because really, it still could be someone else and she'd just mistaken them for her friend).

The slightly taller figure stopped in front of her and didn't say anything. Although Marinette could now tell that it was indeed her friend, her smile faded to concern. Even behind the large scarf wrapped around the other girl's neck and the lower half of her face she could see the signs of fever. The flushed cheeks and clammy skin. Her brown eyes seemed just a little too bright too. The hood pulled low over her hair and eyebrows didn't help the look either.

"You're still sick, right? What are you doing out? You should get back inside. Come on, I'll walk you home."

"Marinette," Alya interrupted, looking down nervously and then glancing around. It was just the two of them. Marinette frowned. Why did Alya seem worried about who might be listening in? Then again, it was Alya. Probably something about the latest scoop. Thankfully, no one else who'd gotten out late lived near Marinette, at least not this close to her home. Sometimes kids came to her bakery for some after-school snacks or on errands for their parents, but she hadn't seen anyone besides Alya after turning down the street a few seconds ago.

"Do you trust me?"

The black-haired girl blinked. Whatever she'd been expecting, it wasn't that.

"O-of course I do," she managed to get out. If anything, that seemed to make Alya more worried, though. Marinette felt ice begin to form in her stomach. Something wasn't right. "Alya, what's this about?"

"I was Lady Wifi...would that stop you from trusting me?"

Marinette tried not to let her own frustration at the circular questioning show. "Why would that make a difference?"

Alya closed her eyes for a second and breathed in. Then she let out a grating cough. Marinette's worry spiked. She really shouldn't be out right now. It was early spring, but the air around Paris still held a chill.

When Alya did speak again, her voice sounded rough from the cough, but firm nonetheless. "Because...you're Ladybug."

xXx

Alya watched Marinette closely for several seconds while the other girl digested what she'd said. Her eyes widened and her face paled and she looked like she'd even stopped breathing for a few moments. Then she shook her head and played it off with a semi-realistic laugh. It was the same laugh she used whenever something with Adrien came up and Alya could see past it in a heartbeat.

"What? No. There's no way I'm Ladybug! Why would you think that?"

Alya's heart sank. She didn't trust her. Her best friend...

"Is it because I run the Ladyblog? Do you really think I'd tell on you?"

Marinette must have realized that she couldn't play this off because her smile melted to one of worry.

"No, of course not. If I were Ladybug I would—"

"STOP IT!" Alya yelled, then doubled over in another coughing fit. Gah! She _hated_ this cold. Why now, of all times?!

"Alya!" The budding reporter knocked Marienette's hand away when it came to rest on her shoulder. She managed to get the coughing under control and looked up with a glare.

"I told you, I know! The way you run off whenever there's an Akuma attack," alright she was more or less jumping to conclusions with that one and going off of hearsay, but she hoped the bluff would work because if Marinette had been lying to her the whole time...she was already tired of it. So tired. "And I've _seen_ you when you want to take care of something, you can lead and you can do just about anything you put your mind to. You're flexible enough, strong enough (with some added magic powers, I'm sure), _plus_ you've never been Akumized...like the rest of the class. And then there's this."

With that, she pulled out the doctored photo on her phone and then a printed picture of Ladybug (not Chat Noir because that was too much right now and kind of besides the point in Alya's opinion...and besides, she wasn't a hundred percent sure they knew about each other and figured that some caution when doing this would probably be prudent) to hold up for comparison. She couldn't remember what Ladybug looked like when she wasn't looking at a picture or the real thing, but when she'd compared her doctored picture with Marinette, she did remember noticing that they looked almost exactly alike.

Marinette's face had gone blank as she studied the pictures in front of her. Then, the mask she'd been wearing fell.

Funny, Alya hadn't ever realized that 'Marinette' was the mask.

"You can't tell anyone, Alya," she said softly.

The heat that rose to Alya's face had nothing to do with the cold. "Well apparently we don't know each other as well as we thought if you think for a moment I would tell the world or even another person any of this!" Marinette's troubled expression deepened and she couldn't seem to meet Alya's eyes.

"It _is_ Lady Wifi," she said, taking a step back because that realization _hurt_. Marinette really did hold her accountable for that, after everything she'd said and...

Maybe confronting Marinette while she was sick hadn't been the best idea because now she felt faint. She ignored the hot tears pooling in the corners of her eyes.

"No! I promise, that's not it!" Marinette protested.

Alya just shook her head. It was getting hard to think around all of this with her headache and the cold and...yeah, this really hadn't been the best idea. "I need time," was all she managed to say before she turned around and stalked back down the street, leaving someone she'd always thought she could trust (ha!) staring numbly after her.

xXx

Note: If anyone would like to beta read for me, please let me know. :) I prefer beta readers that do the following:  
1\. Look for Continuity  
2\. Can help me figure out the flow of paragraphs and ideas

3\. Look for places where characters are out of character.

4\. Alright with me bouncing ideas off of them

I'd love to hear from you! Thanx!


	3. Chapter 3

Marinette ran home, crying. She ran straight past her parents and up to her room, throwing herself on her bed and burying her head under her pillows. Alya and Adrien had been the lights of her life this year. They'd gotten her through school and now...now they were both gone. And Alya had figured out her identity. No wonder she was angry. She probably felt betrayed and laughed at and Marinette couldn't blame her. It was just that Tikki had told her not to tell anyone. She hadn't even told her partner or her parents.

This wasn't just _rotten_ luck, this...she didn't know how she'd make it past this. Would Alya support Ladybug still? Or would she take down the Ladyblog? Would she try to find other friends to outright replace her? Like Maylene or Rose or Julika? Or even Nino? They had gotten rather close, and hadn't they gone on a few dates?

Would she just leave Marinette alone? It would be like the last few years of school...only worse because now she'd know what she was missing.

Oh, she wasn't ever going back to school again!

Slowly her sobs died down and she realized that someone was knocking on her door. Taking a steadying breath, she sat up and wiped the streaks of tears on her cheeks. "Come in."

Her mother peeked her head through the door worriedly. "Marinette? Are you alright?"

At first Marinette nodded and tried to answer, but the look on her mom's face told her she wasn't buying it. So she ended up letting out another shaky sigh and shook her head. The sobs came back all over again, despite the fact that she'd thought she'd gotten past them, darn it!

"Oh, mom, it was the worst day! Alya and I got in a fight and I found out that Adrien likes a girl that isn't even going to our school. Chloe's been terrible and I'm sure it will just get worse and now I won't even have a friend to go back to! I'm grounded and school just seems so hard right now and everything in my life...It' just terrible!"

Sabine sat next to her on the bed and reached over to put an arm around her daughter's shoulders. "Oh, honey, I didn't realize you were having such a hard time with school. Is that why you've been so late and the missed assignments...?" Marinette didn't answer, unable to think of anything better, but not wanting to lie outright again. She hated lying like this.

Her mother must have taken the silence for ascent because she sighed. "I'll talk to your father about your grounding and we'll see if we can come up with something else. Now what's this about Alya?"

Marinette didn't know what to say to that. Finally her mind settled on a lie—one as close to the truth as she could manage. "It's stupid, about the blog. Someone gave her some information and she's really mad about it because it seems to be true."

"About Ladybug?"

The dark-haired girl shrugged. "When I told her to calm down, she said I was taking their side and...oh, mom, she looked so betrayed!"

"Did you try to explain to her that you weren't taking sides?"

Marinette nodded. "She said she needed some time and just _left_."

She could hear the frown in her mother's voice when she spoke again. "Well, Alya's an intelligent girl. Just let her cool down and she'll realize her mistake."

"But, mom," Marinette shook her head, "you weren't there. You didn't see that look on her face!"

"Well, if she doesn't, then maybe it's better that you find out what kind of a friend she is now and not in the future." That really wasn't what Marinette wanted to hear right now. She really didn't want to think of how school would be like without Alya there. And she couldn't even dream about Adrien anymore.

She did not think she was exaggerating when she thought about how her life was just falling apart because of this streak of 'bad luck'. For the first time, she caught herself almost wishing that she'd never met Tikki—never gotten a hold of those blasted earrings.

Then she shook her head roughly, getting that thought out of her mind. Firstly, Tikki was a friend she did not want to give up. Secondly, She loved being Ladybug and having the abilities needed to save Paris. She loved what the challenge of doing so had done for her and her confidence, even if she still needed a mask to pull that confidence off.

Another hiccup got to her and she groaned in frustration. She certainly didn't feel very confident right now. Unable to really take it anymore she finally gave into the childish impulse of burying her head in her mother's shoulder and crying...for the _third_ time that day. Yeah, she didn't feel that strong right now either.

 _Ladies and gentlemen_ , she thought sardonically, _I give you Paris' hero_. Oh, if Chat could see her now.

Chat.

Right. Here she was in the middle of a personal crisis, and she had that responsibility to think of. They were supposed to patrol tonight, but she hadn't been able to get a hold of him because Tikki had been so sick. She groaned into her mother's shoulder and clutched a little tighter to her, ignoring how the hiccups that had settled in a few minutes into her crying made that difficult. She had to get hold of him somehow too, despite the fact that she _really_ didn't want her partner to see her right now.

Thank goodness he wasn't here. And Hawkmoth...

Her breath hitched in her throat and she forced herself to sit up. She couldn't let this get to her! She _couldn't_. Because she was the only one who could purify Akuma and if Hawkmoth came for her...she didn't even want to think about it. She'd have to keep an eye out and prepare like Tikki said. She had to pull herself together so the man who was willing to hurt people so badly, just to get what he wanted, couldn't get to her too. What would happen to Paris then? She didn't even want to think it.

No, she had to do what Tikki said and stand firm. She'd get through this...eventually. She _would._

She had to.

"Thanks, mama," she said as she forced a smile. She was grateful she had her parents right now. That, at least, was a constant she could count on. "I feel a lot better now." Her mother returned the smile, although Marinette could still see the worry behind said smile.

"How about I fix your favorite for...oh," her mother cut off with a frown.

"Is everything alright?" she asked, a little worried.

Her mother looked up with a regretful smile. "We're catering two weddings tomorrow and we've been working at it all day. I'm afraid we don't really have time to fix you anything tonight. You'll have to order a pizza. Is that alright?"

Marienette repressed a sigh. Yeah, that was fine. It wasn't like she hated pizza or anything, although it didn't really compare to her parents' home-made food.

"Do you need some help?" she asked.

Her mother smiled. "Would you? We'd love that." Marinette smiled at the thought of some family time—time to just get away from the rest of her life. Besides, it would be easier to talk her parents out of her grounding this way.

"Do you have homework?" Mrs. Chang asked as she stood.

Marinette glanced at her bag. She did have some, but she really didn't want to be alone in her room, studying right now.

"Nothing I can't handle later," she replied.

Her mom frowned. "Are you sure?"

Mareinette nodded. "Yes, mama. I promise."

"Alright. Let's go call for that pizza and see if we can get your father to stop worrying about everything."

xXx

Marinette really should have known better. With her luck...well, she should count herself as getting off easy after she'd tripped and ruined her father's newest batch of pastries, putting them behind schedule, while managing to give herself a rather spectacular burn on the backs of her fingers. She still didn't know how she'd managed that. It wasn't bad—first degree at worst—but it hurt a lot and while her father had stared at her (simultaneously torn between scolding her for her carelessness and worrying for her) for several seconds, her mother had kindly suggested that she go up to her room and finish her homework after all.

Feeling miserable and useless, she did so. She did manage to snag a plate of day-old cookies for Tikki. The little Kwamii wasn't awake when she got up there, so she left the platter by the purse and dragged her school bag to her desk carefully, so as not to aggravate her burns.

After nearly half an hour of staring blankly at the book in front of her, she finally gave up and glanced outside at the setting sun. What she wouldn't give to be able to transform and clear her head for a little while.

She mentally scolded herself for even thinking such a thing as she glanced at her still purse. She should focus on Tikki and trying to get her better. Actually, that was one of the reasons Tikki remained in the little purse. She hadn't wanted to move the kwami when she wasn't awake, fearing the fairy might find it disorienting in her current state.

She frowned back at her homework. Thinking of Tikki reminded her of Ladybug, which reminded her of Chat, which reminded her that she still needed to get hold of him. Maybe if she showed up dressed as Ladybug, she could at least talk to him and let him know. With the way things were going, if she didn't, he'd think she'd abandoned him or something.

Besides, it would give her something to do.

So she brought out her material and began to work on a mask. She wouldn't have time to make a suit, but this, at least, she could do this right and she could do it well.

Even with her injured fingers, it didn't take her very long to make a mask (black because she didn't have any red and black spotted material on hand). Fixing it to her face was a little different story. Fortunately, she had a little spirit gum she could take with her and put the mask on there. Once finished with that, she dug out an old hoodie that she rarely, if ever, wore and some faded jeans and tennis shoes. It was about as average as her wardrobe got so it would have to do.

Feeling like she'd actually accomplished something, she finally managed to sit down and do her homework. Truthfully, she'd managed to get a good portion of it done before her mother called her down for dinner.

Due to the fact that they got up around 4 in the morning every day, her parents almost always went to bed around 8 pm. Tonight, they stayed up a little later finishing everything, but Marinette was still the only one up when 9 O' Clock rolled around.

On her way out, she stopped by Master Fu's and left Tikki and the Miraculous with him. She didn't want to drag Tikki around in the cold night. She was fine bringing her to school or wherever during the warm day, but the March chill at night worried her. When she'd shown up to ask his opinion on whether she was doing the right thing by going to meet Chat like this, he'd actually been the one to suggest she leave the earrings. Tikki would be drawn back into them and might recover faster if she did. When Marinette asked him why he hadn't told her before, he said that it might have no effect at all, but it would also be easier for him to keep Tikki safe.

"But," she'd argued, "Tikki said she was shielding me from Hawkmoth's Miraculous. I mean, I've had a pretty lousy day..."

The old man merely shook his head with a smile. "Do you consider the Miraculous yours?"

She'd frowned at that. "Well, I consider it Tikki's, really."

He'd seemed impressed with that, but had continued to prompt her. "But the earrings themselves belong to you right now, even if the magic contained inside them belongs to Tikki, right? After all, I did give the earrings to you."

Marinette thought about it for a moment and then nodded. "Alright, I see your point. Yes. The Miraculous belongs to me."

"Then whatever protection she put in place should remain with you, as long as you believe in it."

After that, she'd still been reluctant, but eventually she'd agreed, handed her purse and the earrings over. Then she'd struck out to find Chat, heading for their pre-planned meeting place. It was the roof of a building down where they could see the Eiffel Tower. She'd initially chosen it because she loved the view. Now she wished she'd chosen something a closer to home.

It took her a bit longer to get there than she would have liked, not to mention quite a bit of finagling to get onto the roof, but with a few plans that had little to do with luck (and a lot to do with sheer determination), she managed it. Although, coming back that way might not be so easy...maybe she could ask Chat to take her down? She hoped she hadn't missed him, although, with how her luck had been lately...

Knowing that there wasn't much else she could do, she found a place next to the railing that had a meager wind break and went about putting on her mask. It was far less comfortable than her actual mask (of course) but she still felt more at ease with it on.

Then she pulled up her hood and waited.

She waited for almost 45 minutes when she saw a dark figure land gracefully on the roof and look around. He didn't see her.

"Still not here," she heard the blond mutter. "Where could she be? I hope she's alright."

"I'm here, Chat," she said softly, standing up.

He turned and blinked at her for several seconds before raising one eyebrow. "A bit cold, My Lady?"

She sighed. "It's my Kwamii. She's sick."

His eyes widened and then grew concerned as he approached her. "Is there anything I can do?"

Marinette sighed and shook her head, suddenly wishing she'd brought Tikki along just in case there was something. But, no, she needed rest and so she remained at Master Fu's. Besides, she doubted there was anything anyone, even Chat, could do about it now. "No. But, as you can see, I can't really transform, and I don't have access to any of my powers."

He put one clawed hand up to his chin and another on his hip. "What if an Akuma attacks?"

"I know another Miraculous holder. He's older and can't come help us often, but he has ways to capture an Akuma. If one attacks, use your baton to call Master Fu."

Chat dropped his hands to his side, mouth hanging open in shock. "There are other Miraculous holders?"

Marinette frowned. "Hawkmoth is a Miraculous holder," she pointed out. "Hasn't your Kwamii told you that?"

The blond frowned, although he didn't seem upset at Marinette. "No, he hasn't."

She didn't want to get in between Chat and his Kwamii as she _really_ didn't want to put up with any more fighting at the moment (plus it wasn't her business), so she changed the subject.

"Anyway, it's probably a good thing I can't transform right now. When my Kwamii gets sick, I don't have any good luck. The last few days have been...difficult. I can only imagine it would get worse if I transformed."

Okay, maybe that came out a little too bitterly, because Chat's face melted into concern again.

"Is everything alright, My Lady?"

She closed her eyes and tried to keep her breathing even. She really didn't want to lose it in front of Chat. She also didn't want to lie to him, of all people.

"No," she finally muttered. "My best friend discovered my identity and isn't speaking to me."

"What?!"

"I know," Marinette replied softly. "I'm sorry. I didn't want it to happen. She told me she wouldn't tell, but...I thought you should know."

"Maybe I should talk to her?" he asked cautiously.

Marinette appreciated the thought (she really did) but shook her head. "No, that would only make it worse."

He hummed and nodded sympathetically. "So your Kwamii's sick and someone found out your identity. It does sound like you've had some bad luck."

The super heroine couldn't help her derisive snort. "That isn't the half of it. I've been far clumsier than usual straight through school and at home, burned my fingers rather nicely earlier tonight," the throbbing sting of her hands wouldn't let her forget that one any time soon, "and just about everything else that you could possibly imagine has gone wrong. I even found out the boy I like likes someone else."

That last part she muttered mostly to herself, but she'd forgotten about his particularly good hearing.

"The...boy you like?"

She did not like the tone in his voice and felt guilty for even saying it. She knew how Chat felt about her and it wasn't fair to say something like that to him. Or nice. Her guiltiness was most of the reason why she continued. If she explained, maybe it would make it easier for him to understand. It wasn't like it would be giving him any clues to her identity if she were careful.

"You'll think I'm a silly little girl with a crush," she muttered, but continued anyway. "He's a model. I found out he likes another model. Of course. Why would I have ever thought I'd be in his league?"

"Don't say that!" Chat objected angrily. "If anything you're way out of his league! Not the other way around!"

She smiled sadly at his outburst, appreciating his protectiveness. "You only say that because you don't know him," she muttered. "He's not just good looking, but he's sweet, and kind and sticks up for everyone around him. He's just...perfect in every way. Has a perfect life and is the son of one of my heroes..."

She stopped, realizing she was babbling. And crying too, now that she thought about it. She could feel the tears dripping down her cheeks. Gah, talking about Adrien _hurt_.

"He must be blind if he can't see you," Chat muttered, sitting down next to her. And when had she sat back down? She didn't remember.

"How can he see me when he has a perfect girlfriend, too?" She was fighting to hold back sobs now. Again. In front of Chat of all people. Oh, she'd never live this down! She couldn't break down right now. Not that that thought was helping her any.

"Apparently not, if it's not you. Probably pretty stupid, too," the blond replied.

"Chat, stop," she grumbled. "Adrien's not like that."

She felt him stiffen beside her.

"Adrien...model...Adrien Agreste?"

She stiffened herself, but then deflated. Of course he would know about Adrien. _Everyone_ knew about Adrien. How could they not?

"Told you you'd think it was stupid," she muttered. He didn't answer.

When he did speak, he did not say anything she would have expected of him. "How can you think he has a perfect life?"

She sighed. She knew he must have some problems, but who would give sweet, wonderful, beautiful Adrien Agreste issues on purpose? It just didn't make sense to her.

"I know his life can't be perfect. It's just...he is."

Chat didn't answer for several seconds. When he finally did, his words came out clipped and emotionless. "You don't really know him."

She glanced up at his strange tone and saw his rigid posture. She frowned. "What?"

"Do you?" he asked. Her frown deepened. If she admitted to knowing Adrien, that would give Chat too many clues to her identity. There were only so many people in their class, after all, and she didn't want to take the chance that Chat would pull an Alya and put it all together.

"Chat, what's wrong?" She asked instead.

"You say you like him, but I thought you of all people would know a mask when you saw one."

Her frown turned into a scowl. "Do _you_ know him?"

He didn't answer for a few moments. She almost thought he wouldn't. Then, finally; "Yes."

She let that process through her mind for a minute. "Wait, how do you know him? And are you saying he isn't like that really?" She may have said that a little defensively because she couldn't imagine Adrien not being kind or nice or supportive.

"I can't tell you how I know him, but Adrien Agreste is, in real life, a brash, forward boy with little common sense who likes puns almost as much as I do. And he's an idiot."

"Don't call him stupid," Marinette said, clenching her fists.

Chat shook his head and sighed, turning to her. The sadness she saw on his face stole her breath and her anger simultaneously. She'd never seen such an expression on him before. "It's the truth and I won't sugar coat it. I just...you only see what he wants you to see. I guess I would have thought that you'd be able to recognize the facade he wears."

She frowned, more confused than anything at this point. What did he mean by that?

"Let me know when your Kwamii's better," he muttered.

"Chat, wait," she said, going to get up, but he had already leapt away. She could only stare after him as she rain their conversation through in her mind. That...hadn't been the Chat she usually knew. And what right did he have to go calling Adrien an idiot! She didn't care what he knew about the model. Whatever it was didn't mean Adrien was stupid.

And yet, she couldn't get mad at him because she remembered the hurt expression he'd worn. Somehow, she'd really hurt him, and she had no idea how. Was it because he and Adrien were friends? Or maybe he was the one person in Paris who didn't like Adrien. Could he be jealous?

Did it really matter? Somehow she knew that their relationship would change now. It would be different, and not better, and...and she'd been the one to start it by mentioning Adrien to begin with. This was all her fault. If she'd just stuck to her original convictions and not brought any of her personal life into this...

She'd just chased off her last friend.

Suddenly, she felt so alone.

Her parents were asleep. Tikki was sick. Alya wasn't talking to her. Chat wasn't talking to her. Adrien...had she ever really been his friend to begin with? Was anything in her life real? Did she deserve to be a super hero if all she did was hurt the people around her? Did Paris even really need her? Or had she been right from the beginning when she'd been so convinced that Tikki needed to choose someone else?

Right now, she didn't want to be a super hero. She didn't want the responsibility or the side effects that came with it all. Right now, she just wanted to curl up under her bed covers and pretend the world didn't exist.

She squatted down and, putting her hands over her head, focused on breathing. Maybe that would calm her down and help her crawl out of this despair that seemed so determined to drag her down.

In. Out. In. Out. In...

 _Well, well, well. What have we here?_

Then there was the voice in her head...

xXx

AN: Not beta read (if you want to be a beta reader, drop me a pm. :) )


	4. Chapter 4

_Not beta read_

Hawkmoth, in all actuality, had very few super powers. The only thing he could really do was grant other people power, depending greatly on their own natural talent and their emotional state. The more his Akuma fed on emotion, the more power they could bestow. But...that was it. That, and a very limited empathy/telepathy bond that formed when an Akuma gave their power. He got the gist of their emotion, why they were good candidates for his choosing, and then he could speak directly to them. He could see what they saw, but he could not, however, read their minds. Not directly. If they spoke, he could hear them, but their thoughts remained their own.

He found this limitation beyond frustrating, but seeing as the Kwamii, Nooroo, didn't speak to him unless Hawkmoth forced him to or backed him into a corner, he had little choice. The moth-fairy never volunteered information, undoubtedly in protest to Hawkmoth's choice of how to use the power.

Hawkmoth had never been able to figure out a way around this problem, and so he dealt with it as best he could. He desperately wished that he could have found a way around it now because he knew who he'd caught in his trap this time. Only one female in Paris, right now, could be upset about being a super heroine.

Excitement built in him, but he reigned it in. He had to be careful here. Very careful. Until the potential Akuma actually accepted his proposal, the bond was weak and brittle. This one, he feared, would remain so even if she did accept because someone (her own Kwamii?) had been shielding her and he'd had to reach beyond that. Actually, he was surprised he'd been able to pick up on her emotions at all. Either her Kwamii wasn't with her or she must be having a really bad day. Or both.

His grin widened.

"Well, well, well. What have we here?" he couldn't help but ask. "A little bug?"

He remembered earlier that day and how Adrien had come home complaining about a presentation that had landed the entire class in detention. How it had dealt with a Ladybug's natural predator. He'd been quite upset.

"An Assassin Bug?"

He felt her start to pull away, so quickly made his offer.

"Do you want to stop the Akuma attacks?"

She hesitated. "Yes," she finally said.

"Get rid of the need for super heroes so you can live your life?"

Again, she paused. "Yes."

"I can give you the power to do that."

"But," she said, still hesitant.

"Just a certain pair of earrings and a ring," Hawkmoth continued. "Is that really too much to ask for the safety of Paris?"

She didn't answer, so he decided to sweeten the deal.

"You have my word that I will never attack Paris again. You could go on with your life and everyone would be safe."

"You...promise?"

His grin turned into a full-blown laugh at that because he new he had her. "Yes, My Lady," he said smoothly. "I promise."

"Yes, let me make Paris safe again," she replied.

"As you wish, Assassin Bug."

xXx

Charlotte was already on her way up the stairs to break up an all-too-loud fight that had broken out between her two daughters ( _again_ ) when she heard a scream. Her anger turned to worry and she rushed up the stairs in time to see Jeanne, dressed in a strange, black suit, jump out the window with her older sister, Alanis, tied up and thrown over her shoulder.

This, naturally, caused Charlotte to scream herself and rush over to the window. Thankfully, she got there just in time to watch her daughter somehow use a strange rope (that _wasn't connected to anything_ ) to land safely.

"Jeanne!" she yelled worriedly, trying to calm her racing heart. "What are you doing?" The two of them got into fights all the time, like most sisters their age that Charlotte knew. What had changed about this one? Was this some sort of Akuma attack?

"I'm taking her in, mom," 8-year-old Jeanne called back. "I'm making Paris safe."

"Jeanne, you come back here right now, or so help me I will ground you for the rest of the year!" but the girl didn't listen. Instead, she took off at a substantially faster pace than she otherwise would have been able to pull off with anything slung over her shoulder.

Trying to suppress her fear, Charlotte rushed down the stairs, grabbing her keys and coat on the way out to follow her daughter as best she could.

xXx

Lucienne mentally kicked herself for the umpteenth time for being out so late. She'd _meant_ to go home earlier, but then she'd decided to do _one_ more thing at work...and then another, and another...and she really needed to work on that because now she didn't have anyone to walk with to the nearest bus stop, and she didn't want to pay for a taxi and—

A sudden noise behind her had her jumping and whirling around. She didn't see anything behind her, or anyone for that matter. That...actually made her more uneasy. And why had she insisted on taking a job in the part of Paris that would be empty at this time of night? Well, emptier. She'd seen a few people here and there, and she'd get to a more main street in a minute...

Taking a deep breath, she turned to head back down the street again, but froze at the sight of two very large silhouettes blocking her path. This was why she needed to go home on time. Stupid work-a-holic tendencies.

"Um," she started, hoping she sounded calmer than she felt, "I need to get by."

"Well, you see, that's going to cost you," one of the men said with a sickeningly sweet tone. She gulped and took a step back.

"Your purse," the second (much gruffer) voice said.

"And maybe more," the first continued.

Her heart beat in her chest and her mind had frozen and so she did the first thing that came to mind. Turning, she ran. She wasn't fast enough as someone grabbed her braid and yanked her back.

She screamed and a hand clamped over her mouth.

"You see, now we _have_ to take more because you had to go and do that instead of just giving it up quietly."

She struggled desperately, clawing and scratching, but it didn't stop them from ripping her purse from her.

Then, before she knew what had happened, the arm holding her went slack. She gasped and broke away, rushing down the street in a blind panic.

"Pierre! Why you..." the second voice growled. Right abut then, Lucienne noticed a smaller figure in front of her and paused in her running.

"L-ladybug?" she asked. She'd never heard of the super hero getting involved in something that wasn't magical.

It took her a moment to realize that the girl, while resembling Ladybug, was not actually the super heroine. At least she didn't think so. This girl wore a black suit and mask, except for a few red accents on each side.

"Paris will be safe," she said, reaching out to Lucienne. Something wasn't right here, she wanted to shrink back.

"I'll kill you!" The guy behind her screeched. She jumped and turned to look at him out of reflex just as the girl touched her arm.

Lucienne saw one guy on the ground where he'd fallen and the second jumping towards her as if in slow motion. In contrast to just a few moments before, she no longer felt the blinding fear and panic, but a cold fury. Instead of running away, she found herself rushing forward. Her hands moved as if by their own will, hitting pressure points she would have never known about otherwise. The guy's eyes went wide and she felt a shot of pride as he fell, groaning, in the alley behind her.

Then Not-Ladybug shot past her towards the first man who had apparently been knocked down before. She grabbed him with strength belying her slight frame and threw him to where the other man lay before tying them up with what looked like a black yo-yo.

Definitely Ladybug.

Not that it really mattered.

The girl stood over them, looking down with a blank face. Then she looked over at Lucienne.

"Help me keep Paris safe."

Lucienne nodded, not even noting her own black outfit that hadn't been there before. She stuck out her hand, and a rope appeared for her to grab. She stepped over and tied the two up so Ladybug could unwind her yo-yo. Then Lucienne turned and began to drag the men down the street. She would drop these off at the police station and then continue her mission to help Not-Ladybug keep Paris safe.

xXx

Alya stared blankly at the Ladyblog's home page. She didn't really want to have anything to do with it at the moment, but somehow she could only sit there and watch it dejectedly. Marinette was Ladybug. Marinette had been lying to her the whole time. Marinette didn't trust her.

But then, had she ever really given Marinette a reason to trust her? With how she'd obsessed over super heroes and super villains...no wonder Marinette hadn't told her. No wonder her best friend was afraid of her.

Alya groaned and closed her eyes, letting her head flop back so she could stare at the ceiling. The person she was really mad at, right now, wasn't Marinette. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't still a little upset with the super hero, but that paled in comparison to what she felt towards herself. Yes, the lying hurt, but really, Alya couldn't really blame her friend. Actually, the budding journalist should have seen it forever ago. It was so _obvious_ now that she knew.

What kind of journalist was she? Apparently not a very good one. Besides if being in Journalism meant that she'd have to oust her best friend like that, then maybe it wasn't for her after all. She really didn't want to think about that because she loved reporting...but as of right now, she wasn't sure it was worth it. Besides, she hadn't handled today very well. Should have waited until she felt better because she'd just left her best friend standing there probably thinking Alya hated her. Alya knew she'd have to try to apologize to Marinette tomorrow. Or maybe she'd text her later tonight...or call her. That was something she should probably say face to face.

She really wasn't looking forward to it, though.

Sighing (and trying to suppress a cough...unsuccessfully), she forced herself to sit up and looked around for her phone. It sat on the desk a few feet away. She glanced at the time and groaned. Had it really been five hours since she'd gotten home? Maybe she'd fallen asleep at some point. Stupid cold.

Before she could so much as unlock her phone, though, an alert popped up. She'd gotten an app that could search any new news articles or reports for certain words. "Ladybug", "Chat Noir", "Akuma", "Hawkmoth", etc. Frowning, she clicked on the alert and scanned the article.

A new person, suspected to be an Akuma, was running around Paris and turning would-be victims into dark-clothed persons with pretty amazing fighting skills. Thing was, said 'crime fighters' didn't seem inclined _stop,_ no matter the state of their health. And their definition of a crime varied from siblings younger than 10 arguing to outright muggings from what witnesses were saying.

They also had a picture of the girl they suspected was behind everything. That's when Alya's face went from a honey brown to almost white.

"No..." she whispered. "Marinette."

The girl in the picture had Marinette's pigtails and her frame and...somehow Alya just _knew._ Apparently being an Akuma didn't do nearly as much for hiding one's identity as being Ladybug did. For a moment, she wondered why it was easier to remember the Akuma than the heroes, but quickly brushed that thought aside and finished reading the article.

When she finished, she sat back in a sort of daze. That's when it occurred to her that if the new Akuma was Marinette...how would Ladybug save the day?

Had Hawkmoth just won? What would that do for Paris?

And...had this been her fault? Had she been what had driven Marinette to agree to become an Akuma? She hadn't meant to...she'd just been so sick and so upset and hadn't been able to think and...oh, man, this _was_ her fault.

Which meant that, sick or not, she had to _do_ something. Gulping, she pulled up her contacts. Two minutes later, she suppressed the urge to gulp again as the line (thankfully) picked up.

"Hey, Alya."

"Hi, Adrien," she said, hoping she didn't sound as sick as she felt.

"What's up?"

"Just calling around to make sure everyone has seen the new Akuma."

She really hoped she was right about all of this.

xXx

Adrien didn't know what to think. Ladybug _liked_ him! _Ladybug_ liked _him!_ But no, she liked Adrien. She liked the him that he'd fabricated to put before his father and the cameras...

If Ladybug liked Adrien, but not Chat, then she didn't really like _him_ at all. He really didn't want to think about how much that hurt.

After speaking with her, he'd finished patrol (no Akuma in sight) and headed home, not really sure what to think about everything.

Yet he still felt for her. He of all people knew how bad luck felt. It sucked. Big time. And now she had to deal with luck worse than his. He hadn't really helped in that sense either, he knew, but the blow she'd landed—both emotionally and mentally—hadn't exactly left him in his right mind. He'd make it up to her, but first he had to figure out how to deal with all of this because it was messing with his head. Badly.

He landed inside his darkened room, pausing for a moment to make sure no one was there (no one ever was) before sighing.

"Plagg, claws in."

The green magic washed over his body, leaving his normal clothes and the floating black cat that had become one of his closest friends.

That probably said a lot about his friendships.

"Alright, I don't get it," Plagg said almost immediately. Adrien sighed and headed towards the bathroom. "She likes you. I thought you'd be happy."

Adrien shook his head. "She doesn't like me at all. Not the _real_ me. She only likes what I show the world. Just like everyone else." Part of him felt relieved that he'd finally found a flaw in her. It didn't make her seem quite so far out of reach. The rest of him, though, stung with diappointment.

"Not that I really care or anything, but you should give her the chance," the Kwamii said nonchalantly. "Where's my cheese?"

"She doesn't want to know about me or who I am. I'm not going to betray that," Adrien mumbled, running a hand through his hair.

"Well, she doesn't have to tell you if she doesn't want to, but you can tell her."

This time, Adrien put a hand to the bridge of his nose. "Look, I really don't want to talk about this."

As usual, it wasn't difficult to get him to change the subject, as he shrugged. "Whatever. Cheese?"

The blond sighed. He'd actually already called ahead and asked for cheese to be brought up, so any second now...

As if the thought had summoned them, he heard a knock on his door. It didn't surprise him that when he opened the door, he didn't know the man standing there with a covered tray. His dad liked hiring and firing people. Adrien never knew why, but with the exception of Natalie, the Gorilla, and a few of the chefs, the staff changed almost weekly.

"Your cheese, sir," the man said with a completely straight face. Adrien forced a nod and a smile.

"Thanks," he said, and took the tray, wondering where his dad found these people with steel emotions on such a regular basis. He nodded brightly and then shut the door. Only then did he let his smile die. Ugh. Thank goodness this wasn't a shoot or something. Today was not a good day.

"Woohoo!" Plagg said as he dived through the silver plate cover. Despite himself, Adrien smiled and shook his head. At least one of them was happy. He lifted the cover off the plate and set the whole thing on the coffee table in front of the television.

He'd just reached for the remote to catch the late night news when his phone went off. Blinking, he walked over to where he'd left the device, wondering what Nino wanted...because who else would call at this time of night?

His eyes widened in surprise when he saw it was Alya of all people. He frowned for a minute, but decided to answer. His classmate wouldn't call if it weren't important. Maybe it had something to do with Nino.

"Hey, Alya," he said.

"Hi, Adrien," she replied in a very rough voice. Only then did Adrien remember that he hadn't seen Alya all day. Hadn't Nino said something about her being sick? Yeah, that sounded familiar.

"What's up?" he asked, hoping he didn't sound as concerned as he thought he might, because Alya really should be asleep if she were sick right now. Still, she rarely called him at all, and he had to admit that he was curious, so he'd humor her for now.

"Just calling around to see if everyone knew about the new Akuma."

Several things went through his head at that. Firstly, if there was an Akuma, how difficult would this be without Ladybug? He'd have to try and call...who was it? Fu? Yeah, Master Fu. Secondly, why on Earth was Alya calling him for something like this?

"No, I haven't heard anything," he muttered, walking quickly back over to the remote and flicking the television on to the right channel. Plagg stopped for a moment and looked up at him with a frown before shrugging and going back to his feast. Adrien ignored him, focusing on the television.

"There's nothing on the news," he said.

"It's a breaking story on—" before she could finish, the news station cut through their current story.

" _This just in. It seems a new Akuma has begun to wreak havoc on Paris. This Akuma seems to be a young teenager who targets victims of potential crimes and forcibly turns them against their attackers. This case has already been labeled unique for the simple reason that those she turns seem to still have some form of free will, but no desire to stop their vigilante actions. Already multiple people have been taken to the local police, but the 'attackers' these victims are saved from have been reported as anyone from true criminals to the instigators and defenders of childish arguments."_ They went to the police station where someone had managed to stop a police officer.

" _This isn't justice,"_ he said angrily, _"this is madness. Our cells are overflowing and we have no way to tell who really is a criminal and who isn't. A lot of the people who come in need medical attention. It's particularly frustrating to see the children—both the ones who've been turned and are bringing people in, and the kids that are the victims here. I don't know whether this Akuma is different or not, but she's not any better."_

"Yeah," Adrien muttered, "that's...well, terrible, but why did you want me to know?" By now Plagg had stopped eating and was staring at the screen too, his face looking more serious than Adrien had ever seen before. That didn't bode well.

"Well," Alya said, sounding slightly nervous, "the more people that know, the fewer that will get caught up in this...and besides, have they shown a picture of the Akuma yet?"

"Yeah," Adrien nodded. Actually, they'd put up several pictures, most of them blurry and obviously taken hurriedly by a lucky (or unlucky, as the case may be) person who happened to have their cell phone out.

Then they put up a clearer one, and Adrien's frown deepened. She looked familiar, in a black suit with red, horizontal stripes on each side, and a black mask. She also seemed to have...

"Wait, is that a yo-yo?" he asked worriedly, jumping to his feet.

"Yeah," Alya said softly. "I...I think that might be Ladybug."

"Adrien, we need to go," Plagg said firmly.

That was so out of character that Adrien just stared at him for several seconds.

"Adrien?" Alya asked worriedly.

The blond shook his head. Focus on the task at hand. "Hey, thanks for the warning, Alya. I'll see what I can do about spreading the word, K? But I have to go right now."

"Yeah. Thanks," she said, sounding relieved. "See you tomorrow, right?"

"If you're feeling better," he returned.

She chuckled, although it sounded rather forced.

"Hey, you're not going to put this on your blog, are you?" He voiced the thought before he really knew what he was doing, but he didn't regret it. The last thing Ladybug needed right now was everyone to turn against her.

Alya hesitated for a moment. "No. Not yet. I might have to at least put the theory, but I'm waiting for more facts before I do more than report the Akuma."

"Thanks, Alya. Ladybug needs our help right now, not our scrutiny."

"Right. Good luck," she whispered.

He froze. "Good luck with what?"

"Oh, uh, just getting the word out. Night!"

Before he could respond, she hung up and he frowned down at his still lit phone. That...sounded more like something Marinette would say. Something itched at the back of his mind, if only he could figure it out...

"Adrien!"

Plagg's voice snapped him out of his reverie. He blinked at the little Kwamii.

"Right," he said with a determined nod. If Plagg was actually pushing him into this, then even he understood how bad this could be (and Adrien decided to ignore how much that scared him). "Plagg, Claws Out!"

The transformation washed over him and he opened his (now far superior) eyes, hopping onto the window's ledge, taking out his rod and opening the phone-like function.

"I need to call Master Fu," he said into the rod as he swung onto the nearest building he could without his rod. Immediately it started to ring. Unfortunately, it _kept_ ringing.

"Come on, answer," he hissed and jumped onto another building. If the guy didn't answer soon...well, he didn't even know exactly where he was going, but the general direction of the school seemed like a safe bet. Most of the Akuma had _something_ to do with the school...and why did that niggle the back of his mind too?

Finally, he heard a click. "Ah, you must be Chat Noir. Nice to meet you. It seems Ladybug passed on my message."

The voice on the other end sounded old, but amused and Adrien liked this 'Master Fu' immediately. Of course, that might also have been him realizing that he may not have to go up against an Akumatized Ladybug all by himself.

"Yeah, she did," Chat Noir replied. "But that was before she got Akumatized."

The pause on the other end almost made Chat double check to see if he'd dropped the call. Could that happen with magic phones?

"Are you sure?"

The super hero put the phone back to his ear. "No, but...the new Akuma is a younger teenage girl with a yo-yo. It looks just like her...I think."

"I was afraid of something like this. Meet me at your school. I have to get out of here before she comes back. She'll be after your ring too. Be careful."

"Right," Chat said firmly as the call cut off, happy he'd been going in the right direction.

"Please, don't be Ladybug," he muttered under his breath. Because if she was, somehow, he felt this was all his fault...and he had no idea how to fix it.


	5. Chapter 5

"Master," Wayzz said worriedly as his Master hurried through the building, gathering what he needed.

"I know," Master Fu said softly as he placed the earrings inside the box alongside the rest of the unused Miraculous he hadn't had a chance to give out yet. "I know."

"What do you plan on doing?"

"I have a few ideas, but I'll have to correlate with Chat Noir before I get more specific than that. Until then..." he paused and glanced out the window. Wayzz followed his line of sight and his breath caught in his throat. On a roof across the street, a figure had landed. Anyone with less experience wouldn't have noticed as she practically melted into the shadows, almost as if she were made of them.

It wasn't a pleasant prospect.

"She's here," Master Fu said tightly, then glanced at his kwami. "Wayzz, Transform me."

Light practically melted around him as he hurried towards his secret exit in the basement. If she were able to follow him after that, well, then she deserved to catch him. And as of right now, he wished her luck. He wasn't a Master for nothing.

xXx

"So, this is where you left your earrings?" Hawkmoth's voice asked her.

"Yes," she responded.

"This is where you live?"

"No."

He'd sounded just a little too eager for her to elaborate. Not that she wanted to anyway. This was Hawkmoth...and she was helping him...wasn't she? No, she was saving Paris. She was stopping the Akuma attacks.

(This is wrong.)

And yet, it felt. So. Good. She felt far more powerful and confident than when she was just Ladybug. Besides, right now, she was making a difference!

Wasn't she?

(No!)

If this was how most people felt when they got Akumatized, then maybe it was a good thing no one could remember when they were purified.

(Chat!)

"The earrings," Hawkmoth whispered into her mind.

(Master Fu!)

She nodded and threw her yo-yo out. The earrings. The Ring. Making Paris safe.

(Tikki!)

That was what mattered. She had to do this.

Right?

(Help!)

A flash through the window made her grit her teeth. He knew she'd come. She lept off the roof and swung through the door...into an empty house of course. She ran towards the back of the apartment where she'd seen the light of his magic fade, and found nothing. She cursed silently, then took a deep breath. She had two options at this point: search the house (useless—she was sure he'd already fled) or try and find him from the outside. Turning, she rushed back out the door and was on the roof in moments.

Unsurprisingly, she saw no one. So either he had some sort of invisibility ability, or he'd managed to give her the slip. Grumbling under her breath, she decided to look through the house anyway. Maybe that would give her some clues. She doubted she'd find anything. Her instincts told her it had all been abandoned.

Of course, that was when one of her helpers—a boy she'd seen being bullied—sent her a mental message. Funny, she hadn't even known they could do that.

"What is it?" Hawkmoth asked. She could hear the frown in his voice.

"I know where Chat Noir is."

Somehow she sensed his frown grow deeper. "What about the earrings?"

She stood straight and glanced out the window of the room she'd been searching. "Where I find one, I'll find the other."

Hawkmoth still didn't seem happy, (Good!) but he decided to step back and let her do what she needed to. She appreciated his intelligence. He wouldn't have liked trying to fight her. It wasn't a fight he could win.

Right?

xXx

It shouldn't have taken too long for Chat to get to the school, however he'd had to stop to restrain one of the new Akuma servants. He'd spotted the kid dragging several people through the streets of Paris by strange ropes that magically appeared whenever the kid needed them to. It had taken a little while (and some creative usage of jackets) to tie the kid up and call for police, and the kid had refused to let the other guys (he'd called them criminals) go. Worried that he'd miss his rendezvous with Master Fu, he'd left them all there, hoping the police would get there soon and sort it all out.

Now he hoped the detour hadn't cost him.

The school seemed pretty secure, and he couldn't see any Akuma there. Not that that meant anything. This was, after all, Ladybug they were talking about. He also didn't see anyone else. He hoped that didn't mean anything bad, but he couldn't stop the nervous churning in his stomach. Not for the first time, a hundred thoughts ran through his mind as to how this could all go very badly. What if Ladybug really was Akumatized and had caught or detained Master Fu? Or...worse. Or what if something else had happened to him? Or to the miraculous he was supposed to be keeping safe? After all, the old man Adrien had never met was now carrying at least two of them.

What if Ladybug found him here? Or crashed his meeting with Master Fu when he arrived? Was she really Akumatized? He hoped not. He _really_ hoped not. Alya could be wrong, after all. But then he'd had the same thought when he'd seen the new Akuma's yo-yo... Well, if she showed up soon and told him off for jumping to conclusions with Master Fu, then he'd probably hug her in relief and apologize to her. If not... what would they do? What would _he_ do? Adrien wasn't sure he could fight her.

He shook the thought from his head. He'd think about that when the time came. Until then, he'd keep pacing back and forth on the school roof, hoping that Master Fu would be there soon...and hoping an Akumatized Ladybug wouldn't.

Adrien had wandered the length of the school twice when he finally saw someone approaching. Unfortunately, they were swinging through the streets. Adrien cursed and looked around for a place to hide. While part of him hated hiding from a confrontation, he really did not want to meet an evil-Ladybug right now. He found cover behind a heating/cooling unit and crouched down. Right now, he really wished he had a mirror of some sort so he could see what she'd do without her being able to see him. Keeping as low to the floor as he could, he peeked with one eye around the side of the unit, ready to shrink back if she spotted him.

The lithe, dark figure landed gracefully on the roof and stood, sweeping the area with a casual scan before going to look around. Up until that point, Chat had clung to the hope that he was wrong, that the new Akuma wasn't Ladybug and that he and Alya had just been jumping to conclusions. He felt that hope disintegrate as he watched the newcomer.

It wasn't so much the way she looked as the way she walked, with a slow, graceful confidence that he really only associated with his Lady. It was one of the reasons why he was sure he'd be able to spot her if he happened to run across her in his everyday life. However, the suit didn't exactly discourage the association either. It was black with thick, alternating, red and black stripes running up each side of her leg and torso. She had a black mask and two red ribbons held back her hair in pigtails on either side of her head. In her hand, she carried the black yo-yo and when she turned her back to him, he noted something else on her back but couldn't quite make it out in the darkness. It could be some sort of fashion statement, he assumed, but knowing his Lady, if something about her had changed, there was a purpose behind it.

She finished searching behind the units on the roof closest to her and turned to look further in. Adrien managed to duck back before she'd turned fully and held his breath as he strained to hear her soft footfalls steadily nearing him. His already queasy stomach seemed to get shakier and shakier with each soft scuffle and he wracked his brain for what to do.

He really, _really_ did not want a confrontation right now. In all honesty, he didn't want to confront her until he'd met Master Fu and had figured out something to do about all of this.

Or not at all. Never would be very good right now.

She'd almost reached the unit he hid behind. He thanked his enhanced hearing in this form and, as quietly as he could (thankfully, he could move _very_ quietly when necessary), he crawled to the adjacent side of the unit. Her steps continued to approach, so he crawled to the next side, ending up opposite of where he'd started out, hoping he'd timed everything well enough. He heard her pause for a moment, and then almost collapsed in relief as her footsteps began to walk away.

He peeked out from behind the heater/cooler and noted her back was towards him as she approached another unit. He didn't dare make a run for it, knowing she'd most likely see him, and so he stayed put, trying to keep as calm as possible as she methodically searched the roof.

After what felt like forever, she stood straight and scanned the roof again, putting her hands on her hips. Then, to Adrien's dismay, the outline of a purple butterfly appeared around her eyes.

"He's not here after all," she said, sounding annoyed.

She frowned as she listened to Hawkmoth, then shook her head. "We'll find them."

Adrien closed his eyes and let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. 'We'll find them' as in 'both of them', as in they hadn't caught Master Fu either. Unfortunately, he chose exactly the wrong moment to exhale.

A thump above him caused him to look up to the unit behind him. Somehow, she'd managed to stand on the curved surface and looked down at him with a smug smile that didn't belong on his Lady's face. He mentally kicked himself and swallowed.

Her smile grew. "Oh, look. I found an unlucky stray." She began to swing her yo-yo in one hand. "And he was spying on me. Tsk, tsk." She shook her head in mock reproach. "What a bad kitty. Whatever shall I do with him?"

"Heh," was all he managed to get out, trying to laugh or smile...it didn't work very well. Then his instincts screamed at him and he dodged out of the way of her incoming weapon. It cracked the roof where he'd been crouching just moments before.

"Who are you?" he asked, thankful that he'd found his voice again.

"You can call me Assassin Bug," she replied.

Chat frowned. After the detention his whole class had had earlier today, that couldn't be a coincidence. He easily remembered the gruesome details Lila had emphasized before Chloe had interjected.

"My Lady?" he asked.

Her expression cooled. "Not anymore. Assassin bugs pray on ladybugs. I'm stronger now than I was."

Funnily enough, that last spark of hope dying only seemed to fuel his denial—or at least his stubbornness. He would not let his partner go without a fight.

"That's not true!" Adrien said. "Ladybug is the strongest, bravest, most amazing person!" Okay, that hadn't sounded nearly that cheesy in his head, but he meant the words nonetheless.

"Ladybug couldn't keep Paris safe," she responded, voice gaining a little fire of her own. "Ladybug just reacted to Hawkmoth time after time, unable to take the fight to him and unable to prevent people from getting hurt."

"How is this," he gestured to her new look, "any better?"

"Once I give him the miraculous, he'll stop attacking Paris!" she replied. "So I'm going to need your ring, Chat."

He shook his head, ignoring the stab of betrayal he felt...because the tone she'd said that in had sounded so much like his Lady. "And then what will he do? Why does he want these so badly? And how can we trust him with these when all he's done is hurt people?"

To his relief, Ladybug—Assassin Bug, paused and blinked at him in surprise. Then she looked away for a moment.

"He does have a point," she said. "Why do you want with the miraculous?"

Chat took a step back towards the edge of the roof. The glowing, purple butterfly outline appeared around her mask again and she cringed as if in pain. He took another step back, but it took every ounce of willpower he possessed because really, he wanted to rush forward and help her. He couldn't see what had been possessed though. Nothing stood out. He tried to remember if she'd been holding onto something earlier. Had it been in her pocket? Her yoyo, perhaps? No, he doubted that, but she wasn't holding anything else. Not that he could see at least.

"No," she said, her voice rough. "Not until you tell...me...why..."

Chat didn't dare say anything aloud, but inside he cheered. _Fight him, My Lady!_ He also suppressed a groan because he really wished he knew what to break to cleanse the Akuma. But he didn't, and he didn't want to interrupt her when she seemed to be making some headway against Hawkmoth.

"What do you mean, it's none of my business?" she asked angrily, standing up abruptly, fists clenched at her side. "It's my miraculous!"

Chat took another step back. He'd almost reached the edge of the roof if he needed a quick escape, but while he really wanted to just get away from all of this until they had a plan to actually _help_ her, part of him didn't want to leave her alone to fight this either. He'd never seen an Akuma actually mentally _fight_ Hawkmoth before. Resist? Yes. Focus on their own wants first? All the time. But actually, consciously _fight?_ His respect for her (which, admittedly had taken a dip) raised a few notches. Would she succeed? Because if anyone could, it would be her.

Then she seemed to deflate. "Rescue? But...how will our miraculous help you rescue someone?" Chat froze. Rescue? Seriously? His mind almost immediately rejected the idea. This was Hawkmoth, the man who went out of his way to take advantage of and hurt people for his own gain. His actions screamed 'scociopath' to Adrien, and the Super-villain wasn't exactly well loved by everyone else either...for good reason. Really was there any way they could even begin to trust that Hawkmoth might be doing this to rescue someone? And if that were the case, why didn't he just _ask_?

"Right," Lady—Assassin Bug said with a resigned sigh. It raised red flags in Adrien's mind, and he figured he'd better cut his losses because whether he believed Hawkmoth or not, apparently his Lady did. "Alright, I'll get it. Chat—"

But he'd already lept over the side of the building. Instead of falling directly down, though, he raked his claws into the side of the school and hid in a window pane just as he heard her yell in frustration.

"No! Chat Noir!"

Seconds later she jumped down, right past him with her back to him. She swung down onto the street, searching the area for him. When she didn't see him, she growled and began to swing off to another direction. Not wanting to give himself away, Chat refused to move until he could no longer see or hear her.

The area had been quiet for a while when he finally allowed himself to sink down on the window ledge—just barely big enough for him to do so—and put his head in his hands. He felt like a coward. She'd been right there and he hadn't been able to do anything, so he'd just run and hid. Some super hero.

And it would be right now that he remembered she was still wearing that black mask that she'd had earlier. It looked so right on her now (which was why it hadn't occurred to him), but he remembered how wrong it had looked on her then. Why? Why hadn't he put it together when he could have done something about it?!

He stayed like that until he heard someone clear their voice...at which point he did not jump a mile and a half or scramble away or nearly fall off of the ledge he'd been perched on. Alright, maybe that last one, as he couldn't exactly deny it hanging there with one hand as he looked down at the figure below him.

Well, at least it wasn't Ladybug.

Assassin Bug.

Whatever.

He closed his eyes and willed away the headache that had begun to build behind them. He could deal with that later. Right now, he had to stop feeling sorry for himself and so he did what he'd always been taught to do and shoved the dull ache to the back of his perception and took a deep breath. Then he forced himself to focus on whoever had startled him.

"Sorry," the voice called. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't," Chat insisted, extending his pole so he could slide down it and land next to the person. The blond managed to get a good look at the other figure, sizing him up. He didn't even reach Adrien's chin (his head reached the top of the teenager's chest, if that) and probably didn't weigh 50 kg soaking wet. What Chat found particularly amusing about him, though, was the fact that he looked kind of like a Ninja Turtle, except the shell was smaller and older. Like what Master Splinter would have looked like had he been a turtle too. The shell hung on his back by what looked like some sort of strap or holster, and he wore a green mask similar to Ladybug's.

"Chat Noir, I presume?" the newcomer asked, voice amused.

"Master Fu?" Adrien asked.

"Call me 'Guardian'."

Chat paused. "Guardian?"

"Well, you can call me Great Guardian, but that's kind of a mouthful," the old man said with a playful glint in his eye. And really, Adrien could use playful right now. It was easier and more familiar than...well, other things.

"Alright, GG, what's up?"

The shorter miraculous holder puffed up like a peacock, which looked incredibly funny with his little turtle outfit. His eyes sparkled in humor when he spoke next. "How dare you! Impudent brat!" He said the words, but Adrien could tell he was actually rather amused, so the teenager smiled bigger, completely unrepentant. Instead of drawing out an argument, 'GG' seemed to withdraw and muttered under his breath in Chinese.

Chat raised an eyebrow. " _That isn't very nice,_ " he said in Mandarin.

"Of course, he would be someone who understood," the old man continued to mutter, although he'd switched back to French.

Adrien's grin widened, but he couldn't keep it up for long. His recent encounter with Assassin Bug saw to that, no matter how he tried to avoid the memory and knowledge, it just kept coming back.

Now, Chat Noir liked to think he was a funny guy. He went out of his way to laugh and joke and make light of the situations he got into because he'd learned long ago that if he didn't smile, he would scream and yell or cry or worse. So he smiled because it made the good situations better and the bad situations bearable. If he could make other people smile, all the better. No matter the state of affairs, he always tried to brighten the mood. After everything he'd been through, he never thought he could find circumstances that he wouldn't be able to crack a joke at.

Until now.

He was actually rather proud of himself for joking as much as he had.

"So, what's the plan?" he asked quietly. The old man sobered up almost immediately.

"A trap or ambush of some kind."

"Like what?" Chat asked. What could possibly hold Ladybug? If it came down to a fight, he wasn't even sure he could hold his own. After all, this was _Ladybug_. Hero of Paris. Of the two of them, she tended to be more resourceful, calmer and she also had the brains. Chat was all brawn and skill and heart and he knew it. Too impulsive, too reckless, and sometimes he felt like he just cared too much (not that she didn't, but she seemed to be able to keep perspective).

"We'd best not discuss it out here. Come," the old man said and gestured off to one side.

Chat didn't question him, but nodded and followed as the old man turned and rushed down the street at a pace that, while not matching him or Ladybug when they pushed themselves, surprised the younger super hero nonetheless.

He had no idea where they were going, but had just gotten into a nice, steady pace when GG stopped quite suddenly. Adrien flailed his arms and had to balance on his tip-toes to avoid running into him. Then he wondered why the older super hero would stop so quickly and gulped. Had Lady—Assassin Bug found them? One of her little minions? Chat braced himself for a fight and looked around, especially at the rooftops. The neighborhood consisted of several condominiums and apartments ranging in age from what looked like 50 to 10 or so years old. Like most of Paris, it was clean and well kept...and a very likely place for a rather nasty ambush.

"What is it?" Chat whispered, gripping his weapon so tightly he was afraid he might tear the leather gloves on his hands.

The old man just calmly turned and walked up to a building, unlocking it an letting himself in. "We're here."

"Here?" Adrien asked feeling both relieved and a little annoyed. "Where is here?"

"My secret hide out."

Adrien stopped short. "Huh? Here?" He looked up at the completely unassuming place.

"Of course," Master Fu said from inside, where he held the door for Chat Noir.

"Why here?"

The green-clad man cocked his head. "Why not?"

Chat frowned. "Because it's...an apartment building."

At that, GG shook his head with a smile. "The best place to hide something is in plain sight."

"Only if we don't get spotted going in."

GG shrugged. "True. Then you should probably come in...quickly."

"Right," Chat said and ducked inside. "What about cameras?"

"I took care of it already."

"Oh."

Adrien followed the older man up the old but well-kept stairs and onto the second and then third floor. He wondered what people would think if they walked or peeked out of their apartments and saw Chat Noir casually walking by with an old, ninja-turtle wannabe.

The image had him smiling (albeit weakly) and shaking his head, but thankfully, no one actually did it. They got into the apartment and GG locked the door behind them before turning on the lights. Adrien glanced around and nodded appreciatively. It wasn't the extravagance he was used to by any means, but that made him appreciate it all the more. He found a modest living room with a couch, a love seat and a coffee table and some plants in the corner. That was it.

It looked clean, if a little dusty, and he immediately liked it.

"Alright, so what do we do?" he asked, figuring they needed to get down to the point.

"First," GG said as he pulled on a small strap hidden by the larger one meant for the shield. An old, leather bag Chat hadn't noticed before appeared from under the shell and he looked at it curiously as the older man carefully reached into it and pulled out a box. It had a yin-yang symbol on the top of it and sported eight sides. Why would he have some sort of octagonal box?

Unless...

GG opened it and peered inside. Then he nodded and put the box on the coffee table.

"Is that where Ladybug's miraculous are?" he asked. Something about the box...felt different. Chat couldn't seem to put words to it. He was just...drawn to it. He reached out, but GG beat him to it, taking off the lid. The teenager's eyes widened. He definitely saw more than one artifact in there, and a few empty places as well.

"Wait...you," he started, putting it all together, "you gave me my miraculous!"

The old man smiled and nodded.

"Then...you know who I am?"

"Adrien."

The blond just snorted and sat back in his chair. "That's just not fair."

"Wayzz, shell off."

Adrien's head snapped towards the old man as a softer green light than Chat's washed over him. In his place sat a short, old man of obvious Asian heritage.

"When I'm like this, you can call me Master Fu. If any trouble arises with your miraculous, you can bring it to me. That's what Ladybug did."

"Wait," Chat felt his cat ears perk up, "then you know who she is?"

Master Fu nodded. "I do, but cannot tell you."

He deflated again. "Why not?"

"Mainly because it's against the rules, but it's also her choice to tell you."

Great. That made Adrien feel like a cad. "Right," he muttered and decided to change the subject. "So, right now, we protect the miraculous."

"Yes. But," the man took a tiny hexagonal box and Chat realized that it was the one that held Ladybug's miraculous. Then he turned to Chat and held it out. "I'm letting you take this."

Chat drew back, suddenly feeling worried. "Wait, what? Why?"

"Because if anyone can get them to her at the right moment, you can."

"But...isn't her kwami sick?"

"Yes."

"Then what good will it do?"

The old man shook his head. "I don't know. Miraculous have been misused before, but not in my lifetime. This is just as new to me as it is to you. I just have a feeling that this might come in handy."

"But," Adrien hesitated, still eying the box warily, "if I get caught, Hawkmoth will have both of them." He wasn't sure he wanted that kind of responsibility.

"Then we'll have to make sure he doesn't."

Chat frowned. "How?"

"That depends on what she wants. What is her drive as an akuma?"

Chat sighed. "I did meet her before you came. She...seemed to have made a deal with Hakwmoth. If we give him the miraculous, he'll stop attacking Paris, which she seems to think will make Paris safe. When I got her to ask him why he wanted the miraculous at all, he said he wanted them to rescue someone. I...didn't stick around for anything else."

He leaned forward and put his head in his hands. "I should have done something! I should have figured out where the akuma was and torn that blasted mask it in half—cataclysm or whatever I have to do to—"

Master Fu cut him off.

"No, you did the right thing."

"But I could have—"

"This is your first time working completely alone. Of course it would be overwhelming and that probably had some effect on you. Don't be so hard on yourself. What's done is done and we have to deal with what will happen from here on out. We need to figure this out together."

Chat laughed (and ignored how hysterical it sounded). "Funny that we need the two of us to even begin to match her."

"Yes, she is quite a remarkable superhero."

"Yeah," Adrien whispered.

"So, you think the Akuma is in her mask?" Master Fu asked.

Chat nodded, shaking off his somber thoughts as best he could (again). "I don't remember her holding anything earlier tonight or when I saw her just now, but I do remember the mask. I remember thinking how weird it was that it was so dark under her hoodie, but figured it was the light or something. Then, when I just barely saw her, it didn't even occur to me because it matched the rest of her costume so well and I hate to think how good it looked on her—of course it would look good on her, she'd look good in anything—and—"

"Slow down, Adrien," Master Fu interrupted gently. "I trust your judgment, if that's what you think."

Adrien blinked. That was new. "Y-you do?"

Master Fu nodded, an encouraging smile on his face. "Of course I do. You don't have to defend yourself to me right now."

"Oh," Adrien responded looking down at his hands. Was he really so used to just defending his opinion? Like it didn't matter or something?

He decided to avoid more thoughts along that line.

"All right, so we are going after her mask. Now to set a trap, we'll need bait."

"She'll be suspicious if I use the miraculous," Chat said. "We've used that for too many akuma ourselves."

Master Fu nodded, this time with a frown as he tapped his chin with his finger thoughtfully. "Then it will have to be something else."

"Something she can't see coming."

Master Fu hummed, distractedly, then he looked up sharply. "What if you challenged her to a duel. You said you didn't believe she was Ladybug or something and that you were determined to find where Assassin Bug hid her."

Adrien blinked at the older hero for several seconds, then ran that through his head. He could act pretty well, but well enough to fool her?

"Isn't that putting the miraculous in danger?"

"Not if we set our trap right," he said with a positively wicked grin on his face that did not suit his grandfatherly image.

"What do we do?" Adrien asked, leaning forward to listen to (and hopefully help tweak) whatever plan the old man had come up with.

xXx

AN: Sorry this took so long. Been kind of sick and dealing with work stuff and...well, yeah. So here it is! Hope it doesn't disappoint. My new beat, DarkNightengale1, helped a bunch! Thanks, hon!

Oh, and because someone mentioned it (in jest, I think, but I figure I'll address it anyway), I watch the series in French (I like watching things in their original language) and 'Chat' in French is 'Cat', (pronounced shaat) and I like it better than 'Cat Noir' anyway. It just means 'Black Cat' (which is what they call him in Korean, lol), so I'm just going to stick with the French version. :) Thanks for your reviews and support!


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